


Unexpected

by EmmaTheRevelator (MaybeItWasMemphis), MaybeItWasMemphis



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Family, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Kid Fic, Lemon, Romance, Second Chances, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:15:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 16,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22630858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaybeItWasMemphis/pseuds/EmmaTheRevelator, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaybeItWasMemphis/pseuds/MaybeItWasMemphis
Summary: Prudence was running from the pain of her past. Cal, the only bright spot from that past, wants to ignite the spark that never was but always should have been.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 2





	1. V.I.P.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The song, Whatever Comes First, is copyright © Sons of the Desert. I am just quoting. I make no claims of ownership.

_“The past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it.”_

**\- Disney’s ‘The Lion King’ (1994)**

Prudence took a deep breath as she took a peek around the curtain to see the size of the crowd. Every seat in the _Charlotte Motor Speedway_ stands was occupied. Fuck. Word must have gotten out that she would be performing before the Bank of _America 500_. Her manager, Jill, had sworn that it would be kept a secret until the last minute.

Prudence hadn't performed in her hometown of Concord, North Carolina since launching her singing career six years earlier. This was to be her homecoming show... and she was terrified. She hadn't been back to North Carolina since she had broken up with her (ex) fiancé, Miles, and estranged herself from most of her drama-filled, emotionally abusive family. There were thousands of fans in the stands and any number of ghosts from her past could be amongst them.

The music to her first song started to play and the curtain rose. Swallowing her fear, she made her way to the microphone and started to sing. She held it together for most of the song and tried not to focus too much on the crowd but as she sang the last verse... she saw him.

He was in the V.I.P. crowd that was allowed to gather at the foot of the stage. When his dark gray eyes locked on her brown ones, he smiled at her, displaying his dimples, and gave her the okay hand sign to show her that he was impressed with the show.

Prudence's bravery was slowing starting to seep away. Her next song was a cover of a ‘Sons of the Desert’ song that pretty accurately described the way she felt about him... that's why she had chosen to sing it.... she just hadn't expected him to actually be there. How the hell did he afford V.I.P. tickets anyway? The last time she had seen him he was going to college at night and working as a mechanic during the day. As the music started, she was glad that there was no way for him to know that.

“ _Everyone says that it's no big deal,_

_Nothing a little more time won't heal._

_Sooner or later the way I feel will change._

_But they've never hurt the way I do,_

_because they never had to get over you,_

_They've never shared my point of view of pain.”_

Prudence chanced a glance in his direction. He had an odd expression on his face that worried her.

“ _There's only so much a girl can take,_

_Before her reality starts to break,_

_Especially holding an old heartache like you.”_

As the song came to an end, she saw the look of realization come over his handsome face... at least that's what she was afraid it was. He raised an eyebrow at her curiously but she simply turned away.


	2. Cal

Prudence finished her set and was driven back to her suite at the _Charlotte Hilton_. She would be leaving first thing in the morning. She had a two-year-old son and a life waiting for her in her adoptive home of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Sure, she had silenced her critics by performing in her hometown but it had brought back the ghosts from her past that she had been so worried about. She was trying like hell to leave those nightmares in the rear-view mirror.

Prudence hadn't seen Cal Spencer in over six years. One didn't normally stay in touch with their ex's brother. This went double when they had secretly been in love with said brother. When her ex-fiance, Miles, had relapsed back into heroin addiction (he had been six months clean when they first met) and started turning his drug induced rages on her, she had lost all for him. It was at this exact same time that she had fallen in love with Caledon or, Cal, to those closest to him, Miles' younger brother who was still four years older than her.

Cal had been newly released from prison. He had taken the rap for Miles, who already had two strikes on his record, when the two had been pulled over with more than a pound of heroin in the trunk of Miles' car. Even though Miles was a known heroin dealer and Cal had never touched the drug a day in his life, he still been given a sixteen month sentence in prison. A single father at the time of his sentence, he had gone to prison while his eight-month-old son had gone to live with his overbearing parents. He had been released ten months later, paroled for good behavior.

Knowing how controlling their parents were, Prudence and Miles had invited Cal and his son, Shane, to come and live with them in their small rented house in Concord, North Carolina. When Miles' anger would turn violent, Cal would step in to protect her and on the rare occasion when he wasn't around to prevent the violence, he would nurse her back to health and urge her, plead with her really, to leave his brother.

One autumn day in 2010, everything had come to a head for Prudence. Miles was getting worse every day. When she went to her family about the abuse, they thought that she was being overly dramatic. After another fight in which Miles had thrown her around their bedroom before storming out, Prudence finally snapped.

Finding Miles' supply of vicodin hidden in a dresser drawer and without stopping to think her actions through in her hysterical state, she had taken thirty of them.

It had been Cal who had found her and saved her life. Concerned that Prudence hadn't come out of the bedroom, Cal had opened the door and found her barely breathing on the bed. Remembering that Prudence kept an Epipen in her purse due to food allergies, he wisely chose to inject her with it before placing her fully clothed in a cold shower while he called 911. Later, as she recovered in the hospital, the doctor told her that Cal's actions were the only things that had saved her from going into cardiac arrest. That was the day she made up her mind to leave Miles. She had been gifted with a second chance and she wasn't going to waste it.

Dipping into the trust find left to her by her mother, Prudence had checked herself into a rehab program in California for six months. The program wasn't designed to treat substance abuse, it was designed to treat anxiety and depression. Two things she had lived with from birth. She made her first demo while in the program and had a record deal waiting for her when she graduated from it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp knock on the door of the suite. She opened it to discover the bellhop holding a piece of folded-up paper in his hand. “Ma'am, this was delivered for you down at the front desk. The gentleman who left it claimed to be an old friend.” He handed her the paper.

Grabbing a ten dollar bill out of her purse, she handed it to the bellhop before closing the door. Unfolding the paper, she was shocked to find a scratching, doctor-like handwriting that she recognized.

_***You killed it tonight, Prudence. I've missed you, pretty girl. Call or text me. (704) 555-8388 ***_

It was from Cal.


	3. Texts

Prudence knew that she shouldn't text him. That would be opening a can of worms best left sealed, set on fire, and the ashes buried six feet under. But, as was always the case with Cal, she thought with her heart instead of her brain and just couldn't bring herself to not text him. She had missed him so much over the course of the last six years, Shane too. God, the little toddler that she had once cared for would be almost eight now.

Making up her mind, Prudence grabbed her smartphone out of her purse and sent Cal a quick text message.

*****Well, hello there, stranger.*****

He didn't text back right away so she slipped into the large black marble bathroom to take a quick shower and brush her teeth. It was as she was pulling on a pair of pink shorts and a Minnie Mouse tank top that she heard her phone go off in the bedroom. Walking out, she picked her phone up from the bed and smiled at the text message that was waiting for her.

_***Well, hello there, pretty girl.***_

Prudence climbed into bed and got under the covers before replying.

*****So, you've missed me, huh?*****

She grabbed the TV remote off of the nightstand and turned on the flatscreen TV that hung from the wall above the dresser.

_***You know it, beautiful. What are you up to? Chillin' with your son?***_

He'd heard about Oliver, interesting.

*****Ollie's back home in Maine with Ashley.*****

Ashley was Prudence's eighteen-year-old brother. He had lived with her from the age of thirteen on. Sometimes, when she would only be out of town for a day or two, Ashley would look after Oliver. She was really going to miss him when he went away to college in the fall.

_***I heard about how you got him. I'm sorry about Rocky.***_

Her older brother, Rocky, and his wife, Darlene, were Oliver's biological parents. When Oliver was three months old, Darlene had suffered a nervous breakdown and shot Rocky before turning the gun on herself and taking her own life. Not wanting Oliver to end up in the care of her welfare rat father, or worse, in foster care, Prudence had stepped in and adopted him.

*****Thanks, Cal. How's Shane?*****

She wasn't just trying to change the subject. She really had missed the little boy.

_***He's a budding artist. If I don't keep him stocked up on paper, he'll draw on everything else. On a related note, I need a new coffee table. :-( ****_

Prudence laughed and didn't get a chance to reply before another message came through.

_***Are you alone tonight, Prudence?***_

She wondered if Cal knew how creepy that message sounded. She knew he didn't mean it to but it kind of sounded like something a serial killer would ask to make sure there was no around to witness your murder.

*****Yep, what are you up to?*****

He responded quickly this time.

_***Wishing I was with you...***_

Whoa. Wait a minute. Hold the phone. Be kind, rewind. WAS HE FLIRTING WITH HER?!

*****Why would you be wishing for that?*****

His response came quickly again even though his text was so long that it arrived in two separate messages.

_***Because, I haven't been able to get you off my mind in six years, pretty girl. I heard the words of that song you were singing. I think we should talk, sweetheart. I'm downstairs in the lobby. Call security and tell them I can come up.***_


	4. Not Talking

Prudence, against her better judgment, called down to the front desk and told them to allow Cal up.

Even though she was expecting him, she still jumped when she heard his knuckles wrapping on the suite door. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she went and pulled it open.

Fuck. He looked good.

Cal was leaning against the doorframe, wearing his ever-present Levi's, a black t-shirt, and a playful smirk. “Are you gonna let me in, pretty girl, or are we going to have this conversation in the hallway?” he asked with a great deal of humor in his tone. “I mean, it's cool with me but I swear I saw a guy with a camera marked TMZ downstairs...”

There was the smartass that Prudence knew and loved. Cal's easy demeanor immediately reminded her of the old days and set her at ease. Why the hell was she so scared? This was Cal. No matter how this conversation went she knew that he would never do anything to make her uncomfortable or hurt her.

Good naturedly rolling her eyes, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him inside, kicking the door closed behind her.

Once they were inside and alone, Prudence found herself at a loss for what to say. While she had no clue how to proceed, Cal seemed to have no such problem. Advancing on her, he quickly had her pinned against the wall next to the door, his lips moving hungrily against hers.

For a moment, Prudence let the kiss happen. The smell of his Stetson cologne, the feel of his hands tightly gripping her hips, the taste of cinnamon and menthol cigarettes as his tongue mated with hers... it was all intoxicating but reality soon reared its ugly head.

“No.” Putting her hands on his chest, she pushed him away. “That is NOT talking.”

“I know that, pretty girl,” Cal smirked. “But after so long... it felt pretty damn good.”

Prudence couldn't help but agree with him. She had never been kissed like that before in her life. “Cal,” she sighed and ran a hand through her strawberry blonde curls. “I'm not just going to have a one-night stand with you while I'm in town. I'm not like that... no matter what rumors your brother is spreading this time.” She knew from the grapevine that Miles had been spreading some interesting stories about her virtue since they had broken up.

“Wouldn't know what Miles has to say these days,” Cal shook his head. “We haven't spoken in damn near six years.” He used her surprise at this news to catch her off guard and pull her briskly back into his arms. “And I want more than one night with you, sweetheart.”

“Really?” She looked up to study his face, looking for any sign of deception. She found none.

“Really,” he said as he kissed the tip of her nose. “If I have you once... you're mine. That's how it works with me, pretty girl.”


	5. Make this Easy for Me

Prudence's mind was a jumble of different thoughts, both good and bad, as she fully extracted herself from Cal's arms and walked to the small sitting room of her suite to take a seat on the white suede couch.

“You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?” Cal followed and stood in front of her, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans.

“Nothing about this is easy,” Prudence huffed. “Not with my past. This was a whole hell of a lot easier to deal with when I thought that I was the only one feeling anything.”

“Well, you're not.” He took a seat beside her probably a little too close to be considered proper. But, seeing as they had just had their tongues down each others' throats did it really matter at this point in the game?

“How long?” Prudence turned to look at him questioningly.

“Christmas Eve, the year we met,” Cal answered without a missing a beat. “Miles was off on a bender and you were crying so I –”

“Packed me and Shane up in your car and drove us all over Cabbarus County to look at Christmas lights,” Prudence finished for him. She was amazed. They had fallen for each other on the exact same night. “Shane was so little that he thought that any house with white lights was on fire and would start to cry,” she chuckled as she remembered.

Cal smiled warmly at her. “After we drove past that house that looked like Clark Griswald had decorated it, he was hysterical. It was your idea to take him to McDonald's for apple slices and peppermint hot chocolate. A guy dressed like Ronald McDonald was there and your fear of clowns kicked in.”

“You're the one who gave me that fear of clowns by making me watch 'IT'.” She couldn't help but shudder at the thought of Pennywise the Clown.

Cal laughed, “anyway, you were terrified but Shane loved him so you took him up for a picture with the guy anyway. That was the moment, watching you face your fear for the benefit of my son, that I fell in love with you.”

It was time for her to make her own admissions. “You drove us around until both me and Shane passed out. When we got home, you took Shane in first before carrying me to bed. Miles still wasn't home and you knew I'd be upset so you left both of our bedroom doors open so I knew that I wasn't alone. That's when I fell in love with you.”

Cal reached up and cupped her cheek in his hand. “I'm still in love with you,” he told her softly.

“I never stopped loving you,” her voice cracked. “You were right. I sang that song today because it made me think of you.”

“I know we'd be facing an uphill battle if we were together,” his voice was barely above a whisper. “Between my family, both of us having kids and how we met, my eyes are wide open. I still want to try with you, Prudence. Do you want the same thing, baby?”

“Yeah,” she whispered as a single teardrop fell. “I do.”

Cal smiled before leaning forward and sealing their lips together.


	6. Star Wars and Lego Land

They had spent the next couple of hours curled up together on that small little couch, sharing kisses and simply catching up.

“Holy cow, I can't believe how big he got,” Prudence exclaimed as she looked at a picture of little Shane. She was nestled up against his side as they showed each other pictures on their phones. “He's a little clone of you, isn't he?” In the photo, the now almost eight-year-old was proudly holding up a freakishly good drawing of C3PO and R2D2 from _Star Wars_. “That boy has some serious talent.”

“Speaking of little mini-me children.” Cal was holding her phone and looking at a photo of Oliver and Ashley that been taken the previous autumn during their trip to Lego Land in California. “You would think you'd given birth to that kid yourself. I mean you and Rocky looked a scary lot alike but damn, pretty girl.”

Prudence examined the photo of Shane a little closer. She could see palm trees in the large picture window the little boy was standing in front of. “Where was this taken?”

“Oh, that's at my summer place in Kill Devil Hills.”

His summer place? She had achieved celebrity status and even she hadn't splurged on a second home yet. “What exactly do you do now?”

Her surprise must have been evident and Cal chuckled. “You remember how I always used to be scribbling in that notebook back in the day?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. Not long after he had gotten out of prison, Cal bought himself a black leather journal with a metal skull and crossbones on the cover. Whenever he had a free moment, he was scribbling in the thing, always appearing to be lost in thought.

“Well, when I was locked up, I took this writing course the prison offered and shockingly found that I liked it... a lot. I ended up writing this short story about a fictional biker club that was based on this club from my hometown.” Prudence knew the club that he was talking about. They were called the Lucifer's Fallen Motorcycle Club and their clubhouse was located in Cal's native Myrtle Beach. Her late uncle used to ride with the club. “Once I was out, I couldn't get the story out of my head. I turned it into a novel. The novel became an entire series and before I knew it, Blackstar Pictures bought the film rights.”

No freakin' way. “You're S.P. Embers.” S.P. Embers was the author of the Fallen Angels series of books. They focused on the life of fictional biker, Blade Andrews, bar owner by day, conflicted but loyal outlaw by night. They were her favorite books. She couldn't believe that Cal had written them. When she was reading the first book in the series, The Outlaw Protects, she had no way of knowing that she had been in the room when part of it was written.

“Yep.” He kissed her temple before taking her phone and setting it, along with his, on the small coffee table in front of them before moving to wrap her more firmly in his arms. “This convict lucked the hell out,” he laughed.

“Don't call yourself that,” Prudence gently admonished as she snuggled a little closer. It felt weird being this intimate with him after having such restrictive contact with him for so long... and then none at all. “And you didn't get lucky. You worked for that success.” It was no wonder she had so easily fallen in love with the character of Blade Andrews. She was in love with his creator.

Cal gently pushed her back a little so he could once again claim her lips with his own. “Prudence, baby girl, can I have you? I've waited seven years, I can't wait anymore to be with you.”

Completely undone by his words, Prudence could only moan and nod her head. Cal smiled like a hungry wolf before tangling his hand in her hair and crashing his lips to hers.


	7. Doing Him Dirty

A sigh of relief came when her cell phone stopped ringing because Prudence was a damn coward. That was the third time that Cal had called in the last two hours. It was also the third time that she hadn't answered the phone.

“That's freakin' cold, sissy.” Ashley shook his head as he mixed up some weird Nickelodeon slime looking concoction in the blender. The star quarterback for the Cape Elizabeth High School football team his entire four years at the school was trying to stay fit during the summer. He would be playing for the Duke University team in their native North Carolina when he started college in the fall. Straight A student, star athlete, doting uncle, and not too annoying little brother... Prudence was proud of him. Now if she only could convince him to cut his shaggy blond hair and stay the hell out of her business they'd be all set.

“Mind your own business, please,” Prudence replied as she poured Oliver a sippy cup of milk and set it on the kitchen table in front of him. The blond-haired, blue-eyed toddler was eating french toast sticks and was covered in maple syrup. She knew she should have made oatmeal this morning. Now he needed a bath and she was going to be late for the early Mass at church. She had promised Father Rubeus that she would be there this week and now she was going to be stuck going to the late Mass at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church which was held at eleven and always crowded. This was a time of day when Oliver was used to playing on the beach behind their house. It was going to be a nightmare trying to keep him stationary for the service.

“You're my sister and I love you.” Ashley grabbed the blender off of the base and shook it at her to offer her some of his toxic looking slime concoction. She firmly shook her head in the negative. “That makes it my business when you're doing something stupid that will only be bad for you in the long run. Cal's a good dude and he loves you. You're doing him dirty and you're making yourself completely miserable in the process. I'm not going to keep my mouth shut. You raised me better than that.”

Prudence couldn't take her brother's advice seriously. When he said things like 'dude' and 'doing him dirty', she just couldn't. He sounded ridiculous.

You are probably wondering what the hell happened after that night in Charlotte. Well, after she and Cal had confessed to loving and wanting to be together they had fallen into bed together. They had enjoyed the single most enjoyable sexual experience of Prudence's life. Then the morning came and with it all of her fears and anxiety. She had slipped out of the hotel bed before Cal awoke and left without a word. He had been calling her constantly for the past two weeks but she hadn't answered a single call. Oliver accidentally had while playing a game on her phone but he had also quickly hung up as well. Knowing she could blame it on her kid, Prudence hadn't felt too guilty about not calling him back to at least apologize for the hang up if nothing else.

“Mommy, I'm done,” Oliver announced from the table. “I needs a wipey.”

Prudence turned around from pouring herself a cup of coffee and her eyes just about popped out of her head. He was now doubly covered in syrup. A little was matted in his bangs, his face was covered and his hands were so coated that he had left perfect sticky handprints around the side of his sippy cup. If maple syrup was a race her son could check it off on his consensus form. “No, baby,” she chuckled. “You need a hose but we're gonna have to settle for a bath.”

Not really understanding what she was saying beyond hearing his favorite word, 'bath', little Oliver simply giggled before hopping down out of his chair and running from the room.

“You know he's going to be completely nude by the time you meet him at the stairs, right?” Ashley laughed.

“Yeah, I know the drill.” The minute he knew that he was getting a bath, Oliver began stripping off his clothes no matter where he was (he once attempted to strip at a Denny's restaurant when he heard her say he was getting a bath when they got home) and then would go and wait patiently (most of the time) at the safety gate that blocked his access to the stairs for her or Ashley to take him upstairs for his bath. “Please be ready for church when I'm done bathing him.”

“If I convert to atheism can I skip Mass?” Ashley asked before taking a sip of his slime and grimacing.

Prudence set her barely touched cup of coffee in the sink. “I'm going to bathe the Log Cabin sticky monster. You're going to get ready for church and look up what being an atheist means. You don't convert to anything. You just stop believing in God and an afterlife, you heathen.” She playfully smacked him upside the head.

“MOMMY! BATH!” Oliver yelled from the direction of the stairs.


	8. The Rabbit Died

**ONE MONTH LATER**

This could not be happening. The thin plastic stick sitting on the edge of her claw foot tub had to be lying. All three of them had to be. There was no way that she was pregnant. The doctors had all but assured her of that. She had briefly attempted to conceive with Miles, going so far as to receive fertility treatments but nothing had ever happened and the doctors could offer no good explanation why.

Fuck. She was going to have to call Cal when he had just gotten the hint to stop calling two weeks earlier.

Taking a deep, calming breath so that she wouldn't get ill, as she'd been prone to be at random times the last few weeks, Prudence got to her feet from where she was seated on the toilet lid. Looking out the bathroom window, she saw Oliver building a sand castle on the beach while her vain as hell little brother sunbathed next to him. She couldn't help but giggle when the mischievous child dumped a plastic shovel full of sand on his unsuspecting uncle, making the teenager quickly jump to his feet in shock.

The only thing Prudence regretted about having Oliver was the way in which he had come into her life, through the death of her big brother. The only thing she regretted about taking in Ashley was that he was too young to really remember their late mother and had been just as damaged by their father's mind games and straight up neglect as she had been in her youth. Having kids around made life fun. Holidays were more magical when you got to watch the joy and excitement on your child's face. Rainy days were more enjoyable when you had a cute and cuddly toddler to cuddle up and watch cartoons with. Even when they were naughty it was hard to be mad and not laugh sometimes. Like the time Oliver had thrown her cell phone in the bathtub and exclaimed in legitimate dismay, “mommy, it no swim.” When she was a little girl she had always dreamed of having a houseful of children but she had long since given up on that dream. She wasn't unhappy about having another child. She was just disappointed that her cowardice and bad life choices meant that the baby she now carried was being born to a mother and father who lived in two separate states and whose relationship was bound to be awkward as hell. She had totally screwed the kid out of a full-time father. What was worse was the fact that Cal was an amazing dad. She had witnessed it first hand. His world revolved around little Shane. He'd die for that boy.

Before she made any hasty phone calls down to Dixie, she called and was able to get a same-day appointment at her doctor's office in nearby Portland. By the time she was finished with her call, the boys were back inside. While Oliver sat in the living room playing with his G.I. Joe action figures, she pulled Ashley into the connected laundry room to talk.

“I need you to keep an eye on Ollie for a few hours this afternoon.”

“I had plans with Izzy this afternoon.” Izzy had been his girlfriend since his junior year of high school and was even following him to Duke in September. “Where do you have to be anyway? You promised me you were taking this summer off. It's my last summer before college.”

He was worried that she was meeting with her manager in Portland to set up tour dates or a recording trip to Nashville. If the doctor confirmed what the three EPT tests had already told her, she would be taking a hell of a lot more time off than just the summer. She'd be out of the public eye for a few years at least. He didn't have to worry. With two kids under the age of four, Ashley away at school, and her general dislike of the idea of nannies helping to raise her kids, touring and flying back and forth to Nashville would be impossible. It was a good thing that she had made very good money during her short career and she had invested wisely. Besides the house she lived in, her next biggest splurge was paying Ashley's college tuition.

“It's not work,” Prudence shook her head. “I have a doctor's appointment.”

“Why? What's wrong?” Ashley was suddenly concerned.

“The rabbit died.”

“We don't have a rabbit.” Ashley's concern was replaced with confusion. “Sissy, what the hell's going on?”

“I'll tell you when I'm sure,” Prudence said and ran a hand through her hair.


	9. Up a Clocktower

Double fuck. The tests were correct. She was pregnant. With Cal's baby. She had to tell him.  
  
On her way home she stopped in at Leonardo's Pizza to pick up a Molly's Chicken Mushroom Carbonara pizza, Ashley and Izzy's favorite as a thank you to Ashley for looking after Oliver. While she waited on her pie, she called Izzy and asked if she wanted to come over for dinner. When the teenager replied in the affirmative she made plans to pick her up on her way home. Pizza, her Netflix password, and his girlfriend would keep her brother busy for the rest of the night. There was the added bonus that Ashley's general fondness for his nephew plus the fact that Izzy thought Oliver was adorable meant that the teenagers didn't mind the toddler hanging out with them. This would give her time to make a phone call that she didn't want to make.  
  
“Pru, are you okay?” Izzy asked from the passenger seat as Prudence pulled into her driveway.  
  
Prudence put on a happy smile and turned to look at the pretty black girl in the passenger seat. “Yeah, hun, I'm fine. Why?”  
  
Izzy tucked one of her dreadlocks behind her ear. “You normally talk my ear off or at least sing along to the radio. You've been pretty quiet since you picked me up. I was worried you were mad at me for something.”  
  
“Oh, no, sweetie,” Prudence shook her head as she killed the engine. “You haven't done anything...have you? I don't need to be mad at you and Ashley for anything, right?” She joked to lighten the mood.  
  
“No,” Izzy laughed. “I promise we're not planning to run off to Vegas and I'm not pregnant.”  
  
Nope. The teenager wasn't the irresponsible one who'd had unprotected sex and gotten pregnant out of wedlock. That was the adult in the vehicle.  
  
“Good,” Prudence forced out a laugh. “Not that I'm opposed to having you as my sister-in-law but at least wait until after college...when Ashley isn't living with me.”  
  
“Deal,” Izzy agreed. “You sure you're okay? Ashley told me about you and that Carl guy.”  
  
“Cal,” she automatically corrected. “My little brother really does tell you everything doesn't he?”  
  
“He didn't use to,” Izzy shook her head. “We just figured out over time that we fought less and were happier that more honest we were with each other. I obviously have other friends but Ashley's my best friend.”  
  
Sweet lord. She should probably be taking relationship counseling from Ashley and Izzy. Wo kids barely old enough to vote seemed to have a firm grasp on how to conduct a healthy relationship while she had no clue.  
  
“I actually planned on calling Cal tonight,” Prudence admitted. She just left out why. “Do you think you and Ashley could keep an eye on Oliver while I do? I'll give you fifty bucks.”  
  
“You don't have to pay me,” Izzy turned and looked at her like she was being ridiculous. “I've known you since I was fourteen. Oliver's pretty much my nephew. But, if you really want to thank me, if everything goes alright with your phone call, the next time you see Cal, get him to sign my copy of 'The Outlaw's Drug.' Ashley also told me that Cal's S.P. Embers real name. I've been in love with the Fallen Angels series since middle school.”  
  
Prudence could see no way of her phone call to Cal going 'alright' but she still agreed. If they shared a child there was no way she could avoid seeing Cal. Getting the book signed should be no problem at all.  
  
“What are you ladies doing sitting out here? Oh! Do I smell Leonardo's?” Ashley appeared at Prudence's window and was now sniffing at the air like a bloodhound.  
  
“Yes, you smell Leonardo's. And we are talking, being each other's therapists.”  
  
Ashley shook his head with an overly dramatic frown. “I've told you two before, two crazy chicks can't be each other's therapists. That ends up a clock tower with an assault rifle.”  
  
“That's really not a funny joke anymore, Ash,” Prudence pushed him out of the way with her car door.  
  
“I'll smack him,” Izzy assured her as she opened her door. “Ash, we're looking after Ollie tonight.” The self-assured teenager didn't ask, she told her longtime boyfriend what they were doing.  
  
“That's my girl,” Prudence smirked. Her brother needed someone who could rein in his wilder side from time-to-time.  
  
“Okay,” Ashley shrugged, simply going with it. “As long as I get pizza, I'm cool.”  
  
Typical teenage boy.


	10. The Rugrats in Paris

“Alright, Ollie, Mommy has a phone call to make. You stay here with Uncle Ashley and Izzy, okay?” Prudence got to her feet from the sofa after she had managed to chock down a slice of pizza and a glass of milk, all for her baby's benefit. If she hadn't have been eating for two she would have forgone dinner altogether because not only was she feeling sick but she was also feeling like a billion butterflies were having a no-holds-bar, MMA fight in her stomach. She was seriously concerned she might vomit.

“Come here, boo,” Izzy pulled a pajama-clad Oliver to sit next to her on the couch. “Netflix has a movie from when me and Uncle Ashley were your age. You'll like it.” She grabbed the remote and pressed play on The Rugrats in Paris.

“Who are you calling?” Ashley asked curiously as he wrapped his arm around Izzy's shoulders. With Oliver curled up on Izzy's side sucking on his sippy cup, it was a scene that would normally have had Prudence running for her camera but not today.

“I'm calling Cal. Me and him have something to talk about,” Prudence told him the short version of the truth.

“About damn time,” Ashley snorted.

Izzy smacked his thigh. “Kid in the room,” she admonished. “I'll put Ollie to bed for you, Pru,” she assured Prudence with a smile.

 _“I can't believe Angelica saw that movie last night.”_ Oliver was already engrossed in the antics of the animated babies.

_“She only saw a scene or two. It couldn't have made an impression.”_

A baby on the TV screen held up a wooden rocking horse's head. _“Uh, Bobfather, we founded this in our crib.”_

Prudence was actually able to chuckle at the pop culture reference that had obviously been slipped in for the adult viewers as she dropped a kiss to Oliver's cheek and told him she loved him.

“Thanks again, Izzy. My brother does not deserve you, babe,” she told her brother's girlfriend as she grabbed her phone off of the coffee table.

“I know,” Izzy nodded and smiled.

“I'm sitting right here, ladies,” Ashley reminded them with a huff.

“We know,” Prudence playfully winked at him. “Put the leftover pizza in the fridge before you go to bed, please.”

Once Prudence was alone in her bedroom her facade of happiness faded away as the anxiety very early overtook her. She changed into her favorite pair of sweats before climbing in bed with her phone in her hand. She stared at it for a good five minutes before she finally pulled up Cal's phone number. She stared at that for another minute or two before hitting the call button.

It felt like it took forever before the call finally connected and for a moment she was worried that Cal was now so pissed that he wouldn't answer but eventually he picked up. “Do we know each other?” He might have answered but he was most definitely still pissed off. His tone left no doubt.

“Cal, we really need to talk.”


	11. Cilice & Kill Devil Hills

Prudence sighed. She knew this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation. This conversation was on her want-to-do list right below wearing a cilice for self-mortification. “Cal, I know you're pissed and I completely understand why. I've been acting like a cold-hearted coward. I'm not asking you to forgive me, I'm just asking that you listen to me because what I'm about to tell you is really important.” She took a chance and didn't beat around the bush. This situation called for blunt honesty.

“Alright, you've got my attention. Talk.”

“I'm pregnant.”

There was a sharp intake of breath on the line before a tick or two of stunned silence. “Miles told me that you couldn't get pregnant.” His tone was flat and Prudence wasn't able to gauge his reaction.

Oh, for the love of – had nothing in that relationship been sacred?

“Yeah, that's what I used to think. Apparently, I'm only capable of getting pregnant when I'm not trying.” Maybe some light humor would help the conversation's tension ease up a bit.

“Maybe one of these days one of us will have a kid on purpose.” Cal actually chuckled before his tone returned to serious. “What are we going to about this, pretty girl? How do you wanna deal with this?”

“Deal with this? What does that mean?” Her guard went up higher than Charlie Sheen. If he thought that being nice and using his pet name for her was going to talk her into getting an abortion, he was in for a rude friggin' awakening.

“I didn't mean for that to come out the way that it sounded. That's NOT what I was suggesting,” Cal rushed to assure her. “We're both about to be parents times two. I want to be in that kid's life even if you don't want me in yours. How do I make that happen?”

Prudence really should have expected nothing less from Cal. “I want you in this baby's life too.” If she would just be honest with herself she'd admit that she wanted him in her life too but it appeared that she was permanently emotionally stunted. “I've never had to parent with another person before. I'm open to suggestions.” Or a detailed playbook...

“I'm about to head to Kill Devil Hills with Shane for the summer,” Cal informed her. “Why don't you pack up Ashley and Oliver and come and join us for a few weeks? We can work everything out then.”

“Would you mind if Ashley's girlfriend came along? I really don't see one coming without the other.” Izzy's presence would also serve as a nice feminine buffer in what was bound to be a very uncomfortable situation.

“The more the merrier, pretty girl.” Maybe Cal was thinking the same thing. “Why don't you talk to the kids and make whatever plans you need to make. Don't worry about the travel arrangements. I've got those covered. Call me back when you know what's going on.”


	12. Ashley's Pissed

The next afternoon, Prudence took Ashley and Izzy out on the patio while Oliver took his nap. She told them that she wanted to talk. 

“Why do I have a very _Star Wars_ -like bad feeling about this?” Ashley took a seat in one of the deck chairs and pulled Izzy to sit on his lap.

“What I'm about to tell you is unexpected but it's not bad or even unwelcome.” Prudence took a seat in a deck chair facing them. She was speaking the truth. Despite her relationship with Cal being messy and awkward as hell, she wasn't the kind of person who could ever regret her own child. She wasn't like her father.

“The rabbit died and the news isn't unwelcome,” Ashley mumbled to himself before his eyes went wider than the Mississippi River during the rainy season. “Holy shit...Cal knocked you up. You're fucking pregnant!”

Izzy gasped in shock. Prudence wasn't sure if she was shocked she was pregnant, outraged at her boyfriend's language, or if it was a combination of the two.

“Ashley Nathaniel Wise,” Prudence couldn't help but scold. Her little brother was eighteen but she had raised him pretty much his whole life. Mom-mode wasn't something she was capable of turning off. “I don't care how old you are, you will not use language like that in my house.”

“Sorry,” Ashley shook his head in disbelief. “Is that it, are you pregnant?”

“Yeah,” Prudence nodded. “I'm pregnant.”

“That's why you wanted us to watch Ollie while you called Cal last night,” Izzy put the pieces of the puzzle together.

“What did Cal say,” Ashley inquired. The look on his face was so serious that you would have thought that he was the older sibling.

“He's being supportive and wants to be in the baby's life,” Prudence assured him. She suspected her brother's behavior was the reason that she now had Madonna's ' _Papa Don't Preach_ ' now playing on a loop in her head.

Ashley rolled his eyes. “Explain to me again what your aversion to being with you baby daddy is?”

“It's none of your business,” she threw out her standard answer to that question.

“Like hell, it isn't,” Ashley snapped. “When it was just you being an idiot and you were only hurting yourself, it was your business,” he gently pushed Izzy off his lap and got to his feet. “Now you're pregnant so you're hurting my niece or nephew too. Do you even realize how many single moms out there would kill to have their kids' fathers play an active role in their kids lives?”

“Ash, babe, calm down,” Izzy rubbed his shoulder. 

“No,” Ashley brushed Izzy's hand away. “I won't calm down when my sister keeps sabotaging her own fucking life! God damn it, Pru. I'm going to see if Ollie's awake. I need someone mature to talk to,” he stormed off into the house.

Once he was gone, Izzy gave her a weak smile. “He'll come around. He's a hot head, you know that.” Izzy didn't sound like believed her words any more than Prudence did. Yeah. She had made a big friggin' mess out of her life. That was glaringly obvious.


	13. Dr.'s Phil and Drew

Ashley had refused to talk to Prudence for the rest of the day. He had even gone over to Izzy's house for dinner so he could avoid her. Prudence had never seen her little brother so angry before, and, given the family they grew up in, that was really saying something. 

Prudence had just finished tucking Oliver into bed when she finally got around to calling Cal back. 

“What's up, pretty girl?” Cal's tone wasn't friendly. It also wasn't harsh. Truth be told, he sounded tired, really, really, tired. He sounded almost robotic.

“My blood pressure most likely,” Prudence quipped. 

“Than you need to go to the doctor. High blood pressure is bad for both you and the baby,” Cal now sounded alarmed. “You're taking prenatal vitamins, right?”

What had he done, gone and swallowed ' _What To Expect When You're Expecting?_ '

“Cal, I was joking,” Prudence sighed. “My blood pressure is perfect according to my doctor, and, yes, I started taking prenatal vitamins that day I found out I was pregnant. I've just had a really bad day. Ashley's mad at me.”

“About the baby?”

“No. The baby's he's fine with.”

“Than what's he pissed about, pretty girl?” Cal sounded confused. 

Prudence bit the bullet and told the truth. “He isn't happy about the way I've handled my relationship with you. He thinks I'm sabotaging my own life.”

“Smart kid.” Prudence didn't take Cal's bait bit he continued anyway. “I personally think you have a guilt complex that was reinforced by your dad and my brother. You have an unconscious need to punish yourself. At least that's the only reason I could ever come up with to explain why you were ever with Miles.”

While Cal ended on a joke, Prudence knew that he actually meant what he said. “Uh, when the hell did you become Dr. Phil?”

“Psst,” Cal laughed. “Dr. Phil isn't even a real doctor. I'm Dr. Drew.”

“You spend half of your time interviewing teen moms and the other half publicly rehabbing washed-up celebrities, half of whom die anyway?” Wow. She really needed to stop watching reality TV. She should not have known any of that. 

“Hey! You forget, I also used to host ' _Loveline_ ' on MTV in the 90's.”

“You gave love and sex advice to Generation X. How's their divorce rates by the way?”

“Damn,” Cal chuckled. “I don't have a comeback for that one.”

“Good,” Prudence laughed. “Stick to author. It's a much more respectable occupation.”

“Are you sure you're okay, Pru?”

Prudence felt like a strong hand was squeezing her heart when she realized that Cal wasn't just concerned for their child, he was also concerned about her. “As okay as I'm likely to get at the moment.” She didn't sugarcoat it. With Cal, she knew she didn't need to. “What about you?”

“Honestly? I'll be better once I see you, pretty girl...no matter where we currently stand.”


	14. Blowing Shit Up

Almost as soon as she hung up the phone, Prudence heard Ashley coming in the front door. She waited until she heard him stomp up the stairs and into his bedroom before exiting hers. Once at his closed door, she knocked. “Ash? May I please come in?”

She took his grumbled, “whatever,” as permission to enter. Walking into the room she awkwardly took a seat in the video gaming chair beside the brown leather bean bag chair her younger brother was sitting in. Ashley was facing his television and using his X-Box to blow shit up. He wouldn't pause the game and look at her. 

“I know you're mad at me and I completely understand why.” Prudence smiled a little as Ashley handed her his spare controller. Just because she was a grown woman didn't mean that she couldn't blow shit up from time to time. “You also aren't capable of seeing things from my point of view because you're too young. You don't remember Mom and Dad like I do.”

“What are you talking about?” Ashley still didn't look at her. He did, however, switch the game to two players.

“The house I grew up in was a battleground to rival this game.” That was impressive because they were using tanks to fight Nazis in World War II. “Mom and Dad couldn't go two days without fighting. Mom coped by partying too much and Dad got off on having total control over us kids.” She shot an enemy soldier about ten times more than she needed to. “Then Mom died and I grew up and almost married Miles and I saw myself slowly becoming Mom.” A shudder went through her at the thought. “I resigned myself to being alone. I focused on you, Ollie, and my career. I never in a million years expected this thing with Cal, no matter how I felt about him. My head knows that he's a great guy and that he's probably telling the truth when he says he loves me. My heart, on the other hand, is terrified. Can you understand that?”

Ashley sighed and paused the game, finally turning to look at her. “Yeah, I guess. Are you saying there's still a chance you'll stop being scared at some point?”

“That's what this trip to Kill Devil Hills is all about...finding out the answer to that question. Never say never. There's always a chance.”

“I guess that's all I can ask for,” Ashley shrugged. 

“We good?” Prudence handed the controller back. She got to her feet just as awkwardly as she had sat down.

“We're good,” Ashley nodded and smiled. “When are we leaving? For Kill Devil Hills, I mean.”

“Let me talk to Cal before I answer that,” Prudence headed for the door. “Remember, Izzy's invited too.”


	15. Change of Plan

“Mommy, we go now?” Oliver was looking at her with the cutest most hopeful smile on his face and all Prudence felt like doing was crying. She had been awake for four hours and they were no closer to getting out the door. Cal had chartered them a plane which was a lifesaver. If they had flown commercial they would have missed their flight by now. Izzy was looking after her younger siblings that morning and her mom had gotten home an hour later than planned. Once Izzy arrived, she realized that she had left her ID at home and had to turn around and go back and get it. All of that lost them two hours. Like the good little mother hen that she was, Prudence had double checked Ashley's luggage to make he had packed properly. He hadn't. Another hour was lost as both her and Izzy searched all through the house for his missing items, upon discovering that her kid brother had forgotten to take his swimming trunks out of the washing machine the night before, Prudence had thrown them in the dryer, 

“Soon, Mr. Man,” Prudence sighed and checked the time on her FitBit watch. The dryer still had fifteen more minutes before it was done.

“We gonna fly?” Oliver was rocking excitedly on his feet, his _Jake and the Neverland Pirates_ backpack already on his back.

“Yeah, Ollie, we're gonna fly in a plane.” Prudence pasted a fake smile on her face for the benefit of her son. “If we ever get out of the damn house, she added under her breath.

“Packed up the rest of Ash's stuff,” Izzy appeared in the doorway of the laundry room. “Just need his bathing suit and he's all set to go.”

“Thanks, Izzy.” Prudence ran a hand through her hair and glared at the dryer as if that would make it go faster. 

“PRU,” Ashley shouted for her from the general direction of the living room. 

“WHAT?!” She hated it when he hollered through the house. The boy had legs. He could use them to seek her out if he wanted to talk to her.

“WHERE ARE THE UMBRELLAS? IT'S POURING OUTSIDE!”

Prudence looked past Izzy to the kitchen window behind her. It was coming down so hard that she couldn't see the beach anymore. “You have got to be freakin' kidding me!” She looked up at the ceiling. “Why me, God? What did I do to make you hate me today?”

“Mommy, we fly?” Oliver was growing more impatient and now her cellphone was ringing. 

Izzy rushed over and picked Oliver up. “Come on, kiddo. Let's go help Uncle Ashley find the umbrellas before Mommy has a meltdown.”

Prudence dug her cellphone out of her back pocket while making a mental note to make sure that Ashley married Izzy. The display on the phone told her that it was Cal who was calling. “Hello,” she answered.

“Hey, pretty girl, you in the air yet?” There was a lot of noise in the background like he was surrounded by people. 

“No, the kids seem to be doing everything in their power to keep us on the ground today,” she vented as the dryer started its final spin. “We haven't even left for the airport yet. The pilot's probably ready to quit by this point.”

“Good.”

Was it good that she was running late or was it good that the pilot was probably ready to quit? Either way, he was being rude as hell...which was very out of character for Cal. “What? Why?”

“Shit. That came out wrong,” Cal chuckled. He could say that again. “I meant it was good that you hadn't taken off yet. My normal pilot's sick and I'm gonna be stuck in Boston until tomorrow morning if I fly commercial. Would you mind if I had your pilot reroute to Bean Town to pick me up? My nanny's supposed to start her vacation today.”

“Why not?” It's not like the day was going as planned anyway. “Sure.”


	16. Take-Off

Prudence and the kids landed in Boston three hours later. They didn't disembark, which was a good thing because, after whining that his ears felt 'weird' for the first half of the flight, Oliver had finally fallen asleep. Ashley and Izzy were half-asleep on the seat they were cuddled up in kinda-sorta paying attention to the movie they were watching on the flat screen that hung in front of them. None of them felt any need to leave the plane until they landed in North Carolina.

Prudence's stomach was in knots as she waited for Cal to board the plane. Time seemed to have slowed down and one minute felt more like one hour. She didn't know how to act once she saw him. How did you greet the man you fully intended on ghosting until you found out you were knocked up with his kid? Talking on the phone was very different than interacting in person.

“You alright there, pretty girl?”

Prudence started in her seat. She was so lost in her own head that she hadn't noticed the plane's one flight attendant open the hatch-door or Cal actually board. She sighed. “Yeah, I'm good.” She stood from her seat and awkwardly hugged him. “I've just had a long day, that's all.”

“I get it,” Cal dropped a kiss to her cheek before he took a step back. He was dressed in a sharp blue designer suit. Prudence had never seen him look so professional before but she had to admit it was a good look on him. “My day hasn't been much a picnic either. How are you feeling?” He nodded towards her still mostly flat stomach.

Tired, anxious, nauseous, kind of excited with no clue how to make everything work... “Good,” she gave him a tight smile. “Ashley, Izzy, come say hello.”

Ashley and Izzy got to their feet a little bit lethargically and came over to stand beside them.

“Hey, Cal, long time, no see, dude.” Ashley gave the older man a fist bump. Why did guys do that? What, was hugging not macho enough?

“Dang,” Cal shook his head and chuckled. “You ain't a kid anymore. You were still obsessed with Star Wars the last time I saw you.”

“That hasn't changed,” Izzy shook her head and laughed before holding out her hand. “Hi, I'm Izzy. Thank you so much for inviting Ashley and me to come along.”

Cal shook her hand but waved off her thanks. “Don't worry about it. Ashley's pretty much family now. You're always welcome.”

Prudence tried not to hyperventilate at his words. Why did the idea of having a family with Cal scare her so much?

The pilot came over the intercom and ended the conversation. They were about to take off and everyone needed to take their seats. Ashley and Izzy returned to their seat and unpaused their movie. Oliver was still out like a light in the seat beside her. Prudence retook her seat and tried not to scream in frustration when Cal took the seat directly across from her.

After take-off, once the plane had leveled out, Cal unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned forward to talk to her. “I wanna talk tonight, just you and me. I think we have a few things we need to iron out.”

Prudence's stomach dropped and she suddenly felt a bit ill but she nodded her head. “Okay.”


	17. Arrival

By the time the plane landed at a small private airport just outside the Kill Devil Hills limits the sun was starting to set.

Ashley and Izzy disembarked first, making their way off the plane and to the hired car that would take them to Cal's house.

Prudence threw her purse over her should and slung Oliver's backpack over her arm before bending down to pick up the still sleeping toddler.

“No, babe, I got him.” Cal stopped her. Prudence tried to ignore the term of endearment. “You're not supposed to be lifting much.”

“It's not like I can stop being a mother until I have this baby, Cal,” she rolled her eyes. What did he expect her to do, tell her two-year-old that she couldn't hold him for nine months?

“You're right,” Cal nodded before leaning down to gently pick up Oliver. He arranged the boy in his arms so that he could lay his little head on his shoulder. “What you could do is let the father of said baby help you out.”

Prudence wasn't a big fan of fishing but even she knew bait when she saw it. She ignored Cal, turning around to disembark the plane.

***

Prudence hadn't been to Kill Devil Hills since she was a child. She'd forgotten how peaceful it was compared to the more tourist trap type oceanfront cities located on the Carolina coast. The streets weren't flooded with cars because there really was no nightlife in the city like there was in say, Myrtle Beach. More people lived in Kill Devil Hills than vacationed there. You could enjoy the ocean and the sea breeze without going broke because there wasn't a dinky overpriced beach souvenir shop on every other corner.

Cal's summer home was some big, ostentatious mansion. It was a charming little two-story condo that stood on hurricane stilts along a one mile stretch of private beach. Prudence would be able to enjoy a day at the beach with the kids without worrying about fans or photographers. That morning her PR team had announced that her next album was going to be delayed by two years and that she would not be touring or making personal appearances for the foreseeable future. The internet was already abuzz with chatter about why she was suddenly taking time off and stepping out of the spotlight. Prudence had gone on twitter while on the plane and read some of her fans' comments. Some thought she was a drug addict and headed for rehab. Some thought she was pulling a Britney and having a mental breakdown. A large number of others had correctly guessed that she was pregnant and trying to figure how who the baby daddy was.

Upon arrival at the house, Prudence had been reunited with little Shane who was actually excited to see both her and Ashley. Everyone had enjoyed a quick supper of soup sandwiches before the little kids went to bed and the big kids left the house to go out and explore the city.

Prudence was standing out on the back porch, gazing out on the moonlit ocean when Cal came outside to join her.

“Are you ready to have that discussion now, pretty girl?”

Not really, no, but it was to get it over with. “Sure.”


	18. For Real This Time

Cal led her off the porch and into the small white wooden gazebo that sat on the beach just outside of the tide's reach. The small structure was strung with white fairy lights and had a romantic feel to it. The location did nothing to calm Prudence's anxiety.

Cal waited for her to take a seat on the cushioned wrap-around bench before he took a seat beside her. 

“How do we talk about this?” Prudence rubbed her hands together. “I don't even know what to say to you, Cal. I don't have an excuse for what I did and I have no idea how to move forward.” Honesty seemed like the best way to go. 

“Can I ask you a question, Pru?”

She nodded. 

“When you let me make love to you that night – did you do it knowing that you were going to bolt the next morning?” The pain in Cal's voice was like a dagger to Prudence's guilty heart. “Was everything you said a lie? I got to tell ya, pretty girl, that's really unlike you. I never thought you were that cold.”

Prudence couldn't stop herself from reaching over and taking his hand in hers, interlocking their fingers together. “I never lied to you...on purpose. I thought I was still going to be there when you woke up. But then morning came and all I could hear was my momma's voice in my head. I remembered her talking about how in love she was with my dad when they started out and how happy they were. Then I thought about how happy I had been with Miles when we started out -”

Cal interrupted Prudence's rambling explanation. “You woke up feeling happy and that scare you into thinking that everything was going to go wrong like in your relationship with my asshat older brother or your parents' messed up marriage.”

“Yeah,” Prudence gave a sad little sigh.

“I can understand that,” Cal squeezed her hand. “Do you want to fix this, us, I mean?”

“I want to but I don't know how,” she shook her head as a tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek. “I don't know how to trust a man anymore. Your fucking brother broke me.”

“Let me be the man that fixes what he broke,” Cal pleaded with her. “I'm nothing like Miles. Deep down, you know that, baby. Just let me prove it to you while we're here. Let me prove to you that we can be happy and stay happy.”

“Okay,” Prudence reached her free hand up to wipe the tears away from her cheeks. “We can try this for real this time.”

Cal released her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her close and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. “I love you, Prudence.”

Prudence knew that. That's what terrified her.


	19. Shift

Prudence and Cal still chose to sleep in separate bedrooms that night. They didn't want to give the kids the wrong idea or get their hopes up. Also, Prudence was still petrified and she wasn't ready to take that step (again) yet.

The kids weren't blind and had noticed the shift in the couple's relationship. That shift had been glaringly obvious when Cal had greeted Prudence in the kitchen that morning.

Ashley, Shane, and Oliver were all seated around the kitchen table while Prudence and Izzy were busy making biscuits and gravy for breakfast when Cal appeared at the bottom of the stairs that led into the kitchen. He was dressed in gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt and was clearly only half awake. As he passed by Prudence on his way to the coffee pot, he wrapped his arm around her waist and softly kissed her cheek.

“Aw, look, guys, Mommy and Daddy are getting along again,” Ashley quipped. “All's right in the world.”

Prudence blushed and turned a glare on her brother. “Ashley, I don't care how old you are, mind your own business.”

“The man who becomes my brother-in-law is my business,” Ashley smirked.

“Ash, be nice,” Izzy huffed and put a hand on her hip. “If you don't, you can stay here while we all go out today.”

Cal snorted into his coffee mug as he came to stand beside Prudence. “Did Ashley's girlfriend just threaten to put him on punishment,” he leaned down and whispered in her ear.

Prudence laughed because at that exact moment, Ashley threw up his hands in surrender and promised his girlfriend that he'd behave. “Yep, and he folded like a cheap suit. Izzy's good for him. You know how wild Ash can be.”

Cal nodded and took a sip of his coffee. “Yeah. I was there that 4th of July when he got pissed off at the ice cream man for not stopping on your street and decided to chase him down in his Power Wheels pick-up truck.”

Prudence laughed as she stepped around him to put the biscuits in the oven. “That was the same year that he let a garden snake loose in the school gym to get out of playing dodge ball.” She prayed their baby didn't take after his uncle when it came to temperament.

“Pru, can I give the kids their fruit salads while we wait on the biscuits?” Izzy got her attention from the other side of the counter. “And when I say kids, I'm totally including Ashley.”

“I'd already guessed that,” Prudence joked back.

“You know what, you two? I'm a person. I have feelings,” Ashley feigned outrage. “I'm also starving.”

The teenager's antics had Shane and Oliver in stitches at the table beside him.

Prudence shook her head and chuckled. “Yeah, Izzy, go ahead. Thank you, sweetie.”

“No problem.”

While Izzy went about her task, Cal leaned on the counter beside the stove where she was cooking up a pot of sausage gravy. “So, where is it we're all going today, pretty girl?”

“Oh,” Prudence got excited. “I booked us all on a four-hour-long deep-sea fishing trip. I haven't been since I was a teenager. I know you and Ash like to fish, and I thought the younger boys would have too. Ollie can't really fish yet but just being on a boat is fun for him.”

Cal bit his lip before giving her a warm smile. “You're really trying aren't you, baby?”

Prudence nodded. “I really am,” she replied softly.


	20. Inside Jokes

“Whoa, Dad, check it out!” Shane was proudly showing off the baby hammerhead shark that he had just reeled in.

“Hold it up, buddy,” Prudence instructed as she aimed her phone in the little boy’s direction.

Shane gave her a toothy grin as he held up his catch. After the picture, Ashley helped him safely unhook the shark. “Come on, kid,” Ashley instructed, jerking his head towards the side of the boat. “Time to let him go.”

“Why?” Shane scrunched up his nose.

“It’s still a baby,” Cal explained from his seat beside Prudence. Oliver was in his lap and ‘helping’ him fish by keeping one of his little hands on the fishing rod. “We only keep adult fish.”

This statement seemed to confuse Shane. “We have to wait for it to grow up before we can kill and eat it?”

“Yeah,” Cal nodded although he looked like he may actually be starting to doubt himself.

“Never really thought about it before,” Izzy spoke up from where she was laying on the boat deck sunbathing. “Hearing it out loud sounds messed up.”

The entire boat dissolved into laughter. It was the kind of thing that only funny if you heard it in the moment, an inside joke to be shared only with family. That thought struck Prudence like a ton of bricks to the face. Family. That’s what they were behaving like. It was everything that she had ever wanted, and it was everything she had always run from at the same time.

“You okay? Cal looked at her as he reeled in his line with the ‘help’ of Oliver. “You look really far away right now, pretty girl.”

“I love you,” Prudence blurted out without thinking about it.

Cal didn’t even attempt to hide his grin. “I love you too, pretty girl, always have.”

“Yo,” Ashley clapped his hands together to get their attention. “Your impressionable children don’t need to hear our mommy and daddy’s love declarations.”

“And I didn’t need to find Izzy’s bra under my couch cushion last month,” Prudence shot back with a smirk.

“Son, do we need to have the talk?” Cal eyed Ashley with mock seriousness.

“Would you two knock it off before you embarrass Izzy, please?” Ashely asked although he was the one who was blushing.

“Izzy’s fine,” the girl in question spoke up. “In fact, she’s fine and she finds this absolutely hysterically funny.”

Amid a fresh round of laughter, Cal managed to lean over and steal a sweet kiss.


	21. Nosey Fans

They ended up in nearby Myrtle Beach after their fishing trip. With two young kids and two teenagers, Prudence and Cal had gone the tourist route and paid the company that they had charted their trip through to clean and package their day’s catch for them. It cost forty bucks and they could it pick up the next day. With one less chore, Cal had taken everyone out to dinner at a 50’s themed diner that sat in a large chopping center not that far from the beach. It was the ultimate tourist trap with an arcade, multiple gift shops, and several themed restaurants.

After dinner, Prudence and Cal had been content to stay seated at their outdoor table sipping on tea and coffee. The kids, however, where not content with this course of action.

“Pru, is it cool if we take the boys with us to the arcade for a bit?” Izzy got to her feet as Ashley held her chair.

“I wanted to stop in at the beach shop too,” Ashley added. “I need a new boogie board.”

Not ready to leave yet, Prudence and Cal both agreed because both locations were in their direct line of sight.

“Be back in one hour,” Cal instructed as pulled out his wallet and handed Ashley his credit card. “You each have a thirty-dollar spending limit.”

“No buying hermit crabs at the beach shop,” Prudence ordered. “I’m not playing that game again. It took me two months to find that last one after Ollie set it free in the living room.” It had also been very, very dead.

“Let’s just agree now that you kids don’t purchase anything that’s living.” Cal chuckled.

Ashley sighed dramatically. “Spoil sport.”

“That kid is getting weirder the older he gets,” Cal commented as they watched the kids walk toward the arcade.

Prudence giggle. “Just imagine how strange the nieces and nephews we’re going to get out of him are going to be.”

“Hopefully, Izzy’s genes and common sense prevail.” Cal took a sip of his coffee.

“Oh, my Lord, Prudence Estrange?”

Prudence had to force herself not to cringe as she turned to find a middle-aged female fan. The woman was stick thin and dressed about twenty years too young for her age in a jean mini-skirt and black tube top. On her feet were a pair of platform flip-flops that had gone out of style with the Backstreet Boys and Motorola razor cellphones. “Yep, that’s me,” she gave the woman a polite smile.

“Can I take a picture with you?” The woman waved her cellphone. “My name’s Tina by the way.”

“Sure, Tina,” Prudence agreed.

After getting her picture, Tina decided to invade Prudence’s private life a little bit more. “And just who is this handsome man?” She shot a flirty smile Cal’s way.

Cal turned a charming smile on the intrusive fan. “I’m Pru’s boyfriend, the name’s Cal.”

Prudence chose the wrong moment to take a sip of her green tea. Tina’s next words had her choking.

“Cal, are you the baby daddy? The tabloids all say Prudence is pregnant.”

Why did total strangers feel that it was acceptable to discuss her reproductive health just because she had a nice voice and wrote a few catchy songs? It didn’t make sense. It was like in their admiration for her, her fans forgot that she was a living, breathing person with real feelings.

Cal seemed to know that Tina had crossed the line and had made her uncomfortable. “I will only say that IF there is ever a pregnancy announcement, I will most certainly be the father.” He shewed the nosey woman away. Then he turned to smirk at her. “Alright, pretty girl, that settles it. You love me, you kids love me, your fans love me, _and_ you slipped earlier and implied that I would be the uncle of Ashley and Izzy’s kids.”

Damn. She had done that, hadn’t she?

Cal leaned across the table. “Now you have to keep you,” he told her before soundly kissing her.


	22. Yes, I Will

Prudence ran into Shane in the hallway after putting Oliver down for the night. The little boy was exiting the bathroom after brushing his teeth.

Shane smiled at her as he caught her waist in a childish bear hug. “Night, Pru.”

“Night, buddy,” she leaned down and kissed the top of his head.

“I’ve really missed you,” Shane gave her an extra squeeze. “Love you.”

Prudence had just enough time to say it back before the little boy disappeared into the room he was sharing with Oliver. It was at the exact moment that she made up her mind about the future and about what she wanted from that future.

After doing a quick bed check to make sure the kids were all accounted for – and to make sure that Ashley and Izzy were, in fact, in separate beds, Prudence went in search of Cal.

She found him seated on the back-porch steps, gazing up at the stars as he nursed a bottle of beer.

“Hey there, handsome,” she took a seat beside him on the wooden steps.

“Hey there, beautiful.” Cal loosely draped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. “Kids all in bed?”

“Yep,” she chuckled tiredly. “We are off duty for the night – or until someone has a nightmare.”

“Or until Ashley tries to sneak over to Izzy’s room again,” Cal laughed.

“Wait – again?” Prudence turned to look at him. “What did I miss and when?”

“I got out of bed to get a drink last night and caught the kids tryin’ to sneak into Izzy’s room,” Cal explained. “I sent him back to his own room and stayed awake until I knew he was sleeping.”

“If those two aren’t married by the time they finish college, I’ll be amazed.” Prudence laid her head on his shoulder. “I’ve been thinking…”

“What have you been thinkin’, pretty girl?” Cal tightened his arm around her.

“I want to move home,” she spoke so lowly that her boyfriend had trouble hearing her. “But I only want to move home if it’s with you and Shane. I want more days like today. I want us to be a real family.”

Cal set his beer aside so he could wrap both of his arms around her. “Your home will always be with me. I want you, Prudence. I want our boys, and I want the baby you’re carrying. I love you – with everything in me.”

“I love you too,” she laid a feather-soft kiss on his lips. “Will you take me to bed?” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Oh, hell, yes, I will.” Cal took her lips in a bruising kiss.


	23. Yours & Mine

Prudence was shaking like a leaf in the autumn wind as she lay naked in Cal’s bed. She hadn’t been this nervous their first time together. She figured it was because this time felt a hell of a lot more real. Their first time together felt like a dream come true but, this time around, when the morning came, she would still be in his bed and in his arms; they would still be together.

“What are you thinking about, pretty girl?” Cal’s hips lay encased between her legs and he was lazily tailing kisses from her collarbone to her neck.

“How much I want you, want this.” She ran her hand up his naked chest and smiled to herself when Cal bit his bottom lip and squeezed his eyes shut for just a brief moment. He was knocked just as off kilter by her as she was by him.

“I want you too, baby.” He leaned down and tenderly kissed her. One of his hands ran down her body starting at her neck and running between the valley of her breasts, over the slight swell of her once flat stomach, finally coming to his destination. He lightly circled his thumb over her clit as he kissed her. “This is for real this time, right, sweetheart?” He spoke against her lips.

“Right,” Prudence nodded against the pillow and moaned. “This is for keeps this time. I’m yours.”

Cal’s hands abandoned her center, and she was left feeling a frustrating loss until she felt him rubbing the head of his thick cock against her warm, slick folds. “I’m yours too, baby girl. Don’t you forget that.” He thrust forward, burying himself inside her in one smooth stroke.

“Oh, God,” Prudence hissed out in pleasure as she wrapped her legs around his waist, and he started to slowly make love to her. “You feel so good.”

“So do you. Fuck, I’ve missed this.” Cal picked up his pace and took her mouth in a kiss to muffle her moans and cries.

They became lost in one another as they made up for lost time. Nothing else existed in that in time but the two of them.

“Cal, baby, I’m close.” Prudence was actively meeting him thrust for thrust now, her fuller than normal chest heaving.

“Good girl, cum for me.” Cal nipped at her bottom lip as his hand traveled down in between them to again rub her clit, this time in time with his strokes. “I’m so close, pretty girl. I need to feel you cum for me. Come on, baby.”

Prudence wasn’t sure if it was his words or his actions, or a pleasant combination of both, all she knew was that she came so hard that she saw a white light. Her orgasm triggered Cal’s and he lightly bit down on her shoulder to muffle a shout as he spilled himself inside her.

After they caught their breath, Cal gently removed himself from her body before getting out of bed and walking into the bathroom. A few minutes later, he returned with a warm, wet washcloth and gently cleaned her up. It was a tender, loving move that Prudence found herself getting choked up. His task completed, he threw the cloth in the general direction of the laundry hamper before rejoining her in bed and pulling her to lay on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. “I love you, Prudence.” Cal softly kissed her forehead. “I’m never letting you go again, pretty girl.”

“I love you, Cal,” Prudence snuggled closer. “And, please, don’t. I’m yours.”

“I’m yours too,” Cal promised as they both started to drift off.


	24. The Morning After…Take Two

Prudence’s internal clock had her awake before the sun was up. She was happily and snuggly playing little spoon to Cal’s big spoon, and she really wished that she didn’t have to move. Sadly, she had to. Oliver and Shane would be awake soon, and she wanted to avoid any awkward conversations.

Cal was still asleep, or so she thought, so she tried to remove herself from his arms as quietly as possible. No luck.

“You better not be sneakin’ off again, pretty girl.” Cal’s arms tightened around her.

Prudence giggled, rolling over to lay on her back. “Sorry, sweetie. You’re stuck with me.”

“Damn straight,” Cal leaned down and softly kissed her. “I’m kinda hoping for a life without parole situation.”

Prudence rolled her eyes. “Gee, thanks. Just what I want, my baby daddy thinking of life with me like a prison.”

“You know I hate the term ‘baby daddy,’” Cal playfully nipped at her chin with his teeth.

“And you know I don’t like the prison jokes, so we’re even,” she replied cheekily as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Touché, sweetheart.” He kissed her again, leaning his forehead against hers when he pulled away. “You still haven’t told me where you were sneaking off to.”

“I was just going to take a shower before the boys get up,” Prudence finally answered him.

“You don’t want them to know about us? How’s that gonna work out with you moving back home?” Cal started to pull away from her.

“Hey, knock it off.” Prudence tightened her arms around his neck, not letting him go. “If we’re gonna work, you’re gonna have to stop assuming the worst. And, of course, I want the boys to know we’re together. I just don’t want them to find out by catching us naked in bed together. We don’t have enough money between us to pay for the therapy they would need later. Plus, do we really want to give Ash any unneeded ammunition?”

Cal chuckled. “You’re right, baby girl, I’m sorry.” He softly kissed her forehead.

“Make it up to me.” Prudence brought her knee up to lightly rub against his naked thigh.

Cal groaned. “Anything you want, pretty girl,” he promised.

“Join me in the shower…and then make breakfast for the kids.”

“You drive a hard bargain, woman. Deal.” He sealed it with a kiss. “Exactly how often do you plan on using sex against me?”

"Just until you’re kid makes me bigger than a house.” Prudence chuckled. She lightly pushed him away so she could sit up. “You’re not gonna want me for a while once I reach that point, so you’ll be safe.”

Cal laughed and leaned over and kissed her bare shoulder. “You underestimate just how much I love you and how sexy I find you, pretty girl.”


	25. The Envelope

It was their second weed in Kill Devil Hills when Prudence planned a special day just for her and Cal. She asked Ashley and Izzy to spend a day at the beach with the boys and made a few calls to set up her surprise. She reserved a private room at Cal’s favorite local seafood restaurant and arranged with her doctor in Maine to find an OBGYN in town that would discreetly perform an ultrasound to determine the sex of the baby.

“Why can’t I drive?” Cal asked as reluctantly handed her his keys.

“Because, where we’re going is a surprise,” Prudence rolled her eyes.

Cal uneasily held open the driver’s side door of his jeep for her. “Prudence, sweetheart, love of my life, the only surprise I’ll be getting is if we make it where we’re going alive. You drive like a maniac.”

“I do not!” Prudence huffed.

“Not normally,” Cal conceded, “but the last few days you’ve had pregnancy brain while driving and I’d feel more comfortable doing the driving until you’re no longer sharing a brain with another human being.”

Prudence wanted to argue with him, maybe even call him sexist, but she didn’t have a good defense for what he had said. On Sunday, she had gone with Izzy to a local farmer’s market, and she had kept confusing her blinkers. Every time she wanted to go left, she would hit the right blinker and vice versa. And just yesterday, she almost drove through the garage door by mistakenly hitting the gas instead of the break.

“Fine.” She gave him the keys back. She took the slip of paper with the doctor’s address on it and programmed the jeep’s GPS once she was in the passenger seat.

Cal shot her a concerned look once he was in the driver’s seat and took a look at the GPS screen and recognizing the programmed destination. “Baby?”

“Everything’s good,” she assured him. “We’re just gonna find out the sex of the baby today. I talked to my doctor in Maine. She said that I should be far enough along now.”

Cal grinned before leaning over to kiss her.

***

The local doctor who performed her scan was so old that Prudence wouldn’t have been surprised if someone had told her that he had delivered the Wright brothers. The ultrasound machine was so old that it was hard for both Prudence and Cal to make out much of anything when the doctor pointed to their baby. Much to Cal’s annoyance, Prudence wouldn’t allow the doctor to tell them the sex of the baby. Instead, she had the old man seal the answer in an envelope before instructing her impatient boyfriend to head towards the restaurant.

She would give him credit, Cal managed to contain his impatience until they were seated at their table at the restaurant with their drinks in front of them and their lunch cooking in the kitchen. “Can we please open it now?” He was like a kid on Christmas morning, waiting for his parents to give him the go-ahead to tear into his presents.

Prudence reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope as well as a print out of a public statement that her publicist had e-mailed her for approval. “Read this first,” she instructed, passing him the print-out across the table.

Cal unfolded the paper and began to read aloud. “ _I know that there has been a lot of speculation about why I had decided to take a break from the public eye, and I’d like to set the record straight. Yes, I am pregnant. The father is my boyfriend, Cal Spencer. We are very happy about this unexpected blessing, and we can not wait to add this little boy or girl to our family. We ask that you please respect our privacy during this joyish time._ ” Cal set the paper down. “You’re publically claiming me, baby?”

Prudence blushed and nodded. “If that’s okay? I don’t want us to hide from the public.”

“Of course, it’s okay, pretty girl.” He leaned across the table to softly kiss her. “Now give me that envelope and a pen so I can make a few changes.

Prudence did as he asked, watching as he opened the envelope, grinned happily, and then went about re-writing the public statement before finally sliding it back to her to read.

With an unsteady hand, she picked up the paper and started to read, skipping over the opening that had remained the same.

_*** Yes, I am pregnant. The father is my fiancé, Cal Spencer. We are beyond thrilled for this unexpected blessing, and we can not wait to add a beautiful little girl to our family… ***_

Prudence gasped, and her eyes flew up to meet Cal’s. They were having a daughter, and he had just proposed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pregnancy brain’ is a very real thing. It basically makes you an airhead. My older sister had the worst case I’ve ever seen and, hand to God tried to mail a birthday card to our grandmother by putting it in the microwave while pregnant. Another excellent example of pregnancy brain? The season four episode of the sitcom, ‘Modern Family’ that’s titled ‘When a Tree Falls.’ What the character of Gloria goes through while pregnant in that episode isn’t an over the top parody of pregnancy brain, it’s an accurate depiction.


	26. Yes

“We’re having a daughter,” Prudence giggled. She didn’t address his proposal just yet. She knew that Cal would understand. After spending years parenting Ashley and Oliver, she was finally getting her secretly longed for little girl. It was going to be a whole new adventure and she was excited.

“We are,” Cal smiled and reached across the table to take her hand in his. “Did you, maybe, catch the other change I made?” He raised an eyebrow.

Prudence smirked. “I did,” she nodded. “I just didn’t understand it,” she played dumb. “I don’t have a fiancé because no one has asked me yet.”

There was nothing but amusement on Cal’s face. “So that’s how you want to play it? Okay.” He reached into the pocket of his jeans and extracted a white ring box, setting it on the table between them. “Why don’t you open that up, pretty girl?”

With a slightly shaking hand, Prudence reached out and grabbed the box. Lifting the lid, she found a beautiful white gold wrap around ring. A metal angel’s wing wrapped around to meet a breathtaking diamond that was set inside of a .38 caliber bullet casing. “You remember teaching me to shoot,” she whispered tearily. It had been many years earlier, in another life. She’d been angry at his brother can Cal had taken her to a gun range to blow off steam. He had just been correcting her stance, but it had been the first time that she had felt his arms wrapped around her. It was a memory that was burned forever into her mind.

Cal licked his lips and smiled. “I remember every day that I’ve ever spent with you, Prudence.” He reached across the table and took her hand in his. “I love you, pretty girl. I’ve loved you since you weren’t even mine to love. That’s not just some random .38 bullet casing in that ring. That’s your casing; the one I slipped into my pocket that day at the gun range. There’s nothing I’ve ever wanted more than I want you and the family that comes along with you. I love how much you’ve always loved Shane. You loved my son before you loved me. And the way you took in Ashley and Oliver when they weren’t your responsibility shows how big your heart is. The amazing boys they are show how wonderful a mother you are. Our daughter is lucky that you’re her mama. I’m lucky to call you my girl, but now I want more. I love you, baby girl. Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” Prudence nodded and said not even half a second later. “Of course, I will. I love you, Cal.”

Cal took the ring from her and slipped it on her finger. Once the ring was in place, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Perfect, just like you.”

A bright flash of light interrupted their moment.

“I need a new job,” Prudence huffed as she spied a photographer being pushed out the front door of the restaurant.

“Come on,” Cal got to his feet and pulled her to hers. “Let’s go home and celebrate with the kids. We’ll order something in.”

Damn, he was perfect.


	27. Miles Strikes Back

What met them at the house was a worried looking Ashley and Izzy in the living room.

“You haven’t been online recently, have you?” Izzy asked almost as soon as Prudence closed the front door.

“Nah, why?” Cal asked.

Ashley simply handed over his cell phone where the homepage of a popular gossip blog was open.

_*** PRUDENCE WISE PREGNANT! WITH EX’S BROTHER’S BABY! ***_

“Fucking Miles!” Cal cursed.

Prudence sank to sit down on the sofa. “What did he say?” She was almost positive that she didn’t want to know but she knew that she needed to.

She watched as Cal scanned through the article. His grown seemed to grow with every word that he read. “Cal?”

Cal turned to Ashley and handed back his phone. “Where are the boys?”

“Drawing in the kitchen,” Izzy answered for her boyfriend.

Cal nodded. “Could the two of please keep an eye on them and give us some privacy?”

The teenagers quickly agreed before departing from the room.

Cal took a seat beside her. “The cliff notes? The photographer from the restaurant’s apparently been around for a little while. They have pictures of us together and at the doctor. They have pictures of the kids too but were at least decent enough to blur out their faces.”

“And Miles?” Prudence sighed.

“Must be using again, if he ever quit in the first place.” Cal rubbed his hand over his mouth. “He told the reporter who wrote the article that we’ve been messing around since you were engaged to him. If that wasn’t enough of a dick move, he was happy to give them my prison history and my pen name.” He looked like he would have killed his brother if he had been standing in front of him in that moment.

Prudence herself was livid. “You only went to prison to save his no-good ass!” At that moment, a sharp pain ripped through her lower abdomen. “Ow, shit!” She clutched her stomach.

“Pretty girl, what’s wrong?” Cal seemed to forget that he was angry as he wrapped a concerned arm around her waist.

“I don’t know.” Prudence gasped as another pain shot through her. “Cal, we need to go to the hospital, right now.”

“Alright, baby, just breathe.” He kissed her forehead before jumping to his feet. “ASHLEY!” He yelled.

Ashley must have heard the urgency in Cal’s tone because he came running into the room. “What’s wrong?”

“I gotta take Pru to the hospital. I need you and Izzy to stay back with the boys.”


	28. Poking the Stupid Bear

“False labor,” the emergency room doctor explained with a gentle tone to her voice and a reassuring smile on her young face. “Stressful situations can trigger it. Not to be rude or judgmental, but I’ve seen the news. If I could give you some advice, stay away from the tabloids and gossip blogs.”

“Am I allowed to go home?” Prudence hated hospitals in general, but the small town’s ancient medical center made her feel very claustrophobic.

“Not tonight,” Dr. New Medical License gave her a sympathetic smile. “We want to keep you overnight for observation. If tomorrow morning you still aren’t experiencing any contractions, we’ll cut you loose.”

Prudence sighed and nodded before leaning back and resting her head against the propped up hospital bed.

“A nurse will be in soon to admit you upstairs.”

“You’re awfully quiet over there.” Prudence addressed Cal. Ever since they had learned that their baby was still healthy and safe, his nose had been in his phone as he sat in the chair beside her bed.

Cal turned off his phone’s screen and got to his feet. “I’m taking care of some stuff that I don’t want you worrying about.” He leaned down and softly kissed her cheek.

At that exact moment, Prudence’s phone started vibrating in her purse that sat on the small rolling hospital table. “Cal, grab me my phone.” She had a very ominous feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Once Cal did as she asked, she used her fingerprint to unlock her phone’s screen and found that she had a google news alert message.

_* S.P. EMBERS ADDRESSES BROTHER’S INTERVIEW *_

Prudence groaned. “Cal, what did you do?”

Cal looked over her shoulder at her phone screen. “You aren’t supposed to be getting stressed out. Don’t worry about it.”

“Too late,” Prudence responded dryly as she clicked on the article.

_* S.P. Embers is responding to his brother’s claim that he had an inappropriate relationship with singer Prudence Wise while she was engaged to his older brother. The New York Times bestselling author issued the following statement:_

_“I normally do not respond to media reports relating to my personal life, but I feel like my older brother has left me with no other choice in this situation._

_I have known Prudence Wise for many years. She is now my fiancé as well as the woman who is carrying my daughter._

_While we are a couple now, we were strictly friends while she was in a relationship with my brother. We reconnected long after the two of them had gone their separate ways. Any claims that we were anything more than friends while she was in a relationship with another man are 100% false._

_My older brother has some private demons. I implore the media not to pay him the funds needed to feed those demons.” *_

Prudence turned and glared at Cal just as the nurse arrived to admit her to the hospital. “Nice going, genius. You just poked the very stupid bear.”


End file.
